All Along
by Acaylee
Summary: She wasn't supposed to get kidnapped. She wasn't supposed to be sold to her kingdom's enemy. And she wasn’t supposed to fall in love with him. SxS


**All Along  
**acaylee

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001wish on a wing

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"Sakura, just what do you think you're doing?" Tomoyo stood in the middle of the doorway, her arms folded against her chest, strongly disapproving of what her best friend of a princess was doing. Which was taking off pale pink gown that must have cost the king a fortune. "Not again."

Sakura threw a mischievous smile at her lady-in-waiting and second-cousin. "Only a few hours, I swear! Besides," she said, wrinkling her nose, "I can't stand wearing these things." She followed to take off a pendant that held one of the biggest diamonds Tomoyo had ever seen.

Tomoyo sighed. "Those jewels must have cost a fortune."

The princess only grinned. "Actually, they didn't. Gifts" – she slid all the rings off her fingers – "all of them. And because I love you so much, Tomo-chan," Sakura winked, throwing a gold bracelet at her, "you can have this."

Tomoyo caught it and walked over to her before dropping the bracelet amongst Sakura's other gold chains. "No way. You're not bribing me, Sakura. You can't go."

Ignoring her, Sakura pulled out the braid that had been plaited around her head, releasing her long honey-coloured tresses. "That's better," she smiled. "Don't worry, Tomoyo; I promise you I'll be fine. I just want to see what it's like to be a commoner. No one's going to kill me, or anything. I'm not the heir to the kingdom; Toya is. I'm just the princess. All I'm going to do is marry a prince who can provide for me. The end. Now, before I do that, I want to see...life." She smiled dreamily, absently twirling a strand of hair.

Her best friend merely wrinkled her nose. "For a princess, you're not made of very princess-like material."

"So what do you define princess material, oh-best-friend-of-mine?" Sakura teased. "I am a princess. I just don't want to be one twenty-four-seven. It gets tiring to pretend that everything a prince says to you is absolutely fascinating. And eating the food. And dancing. The dancing's pretty bad. They should make shoes the material helmets are made of. My feet hurt just thinking about it all. I can put on charm as easily as slipping on a tiara, I can play the harp, I can sing. Er, what else do princesses do?"

"Well they certainly don't go out as commoners. That's for sure." Tomoyo was adamant.

Sakura was left to only one option. "Please, Tomoyo, please? Please? Please! Last time! I swear on my great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather's grave! I promise!"

Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "Last time? How many times have you sneaked out that I don't know about?"

"Er...um…well, you see..."

"Sakura," Tomoyo sighed, "promise me that this will be the last time forever and ever."

The girl smiled brightly. "Of course! I think Papa's arranging a marriage between me and that prince – what's his name again? Anyways, I'm not sure – but I just want to see my people one more time before I become queen of some unknown kingdom."

Tomoyo could have named five ways of seeing "her people" that didn't require dressing up as a commoner, but she didn't say it. "Fine. Just make sure you come here before the maids have your bath ready for the banquet. Prince "What's-his-name-again" is here, remember?"

"Right. Now help me with these breeches?" Sakura struggled to get into them. "How can people wear them all the time? I'm having trouble even getting one leg in."

Tomoyo sighed again. "Most people wear breeches that fit them. Whose are these? And why do you have to dress as a boy?"

"Because," said Sakura, as if it was obvious, "it's easier to sneak out. You know how many horses we have here. And I want to take Midnight with me. If I looked like a maid, wouldn't it be suspicious for me to take the Princess's favourite horse out? And these clothes belong to that little stable boy. The one who looks after my horses. I think he's fourteen."

"I can't believe you stole it." Tomoyo shook her head in amusement.

"Don't worry! I left a few gold coins in place. And I gave him more than these old trousers are worth. I kept thinking what if I took his only spare clothes?" Sakura slipped on the top. "So what do you think? Will I pass?"

"Er, maybe a little something about the hair."

"Right!" Sakura agreed. And to Tomoyo's utter shock, Sakura took out a dagger and snipped her back-length hair shorter in one go. "Do you think elbow length is too long, still?"

Tomoyo did nothing but gape. She chopped her hair off! Her hair!

"Tomoyo? Are you there?" Sakura waved the dagger in front of her face, not assessing what she was doing. Tomoyo knew Sakura was trained in self-defence, but...her hair! "Tomoyo?"

"Your hair! Don't cut it any shorter! Princesses need long hair!"

"Okay," Sakura hummed. "I'll pin it up and wear one of those hat things." She studied herself in front of her dressing table. Maybe she looked a bit too clean for passing it off. She couldn't go this far and get caught before leaving the castle. Toya would have a fit at her; he was being all bossy ever since Papa got sick. But Papa'll get better, Sakura knew it. "Do you think I'm too clean?"

Tomoyo was still a bit distracted. "Maybe..."

"Right! I'll be right back!" Sakura disappeared out the room.

Tomoyo was worried, to say the least, even though Sakura seemed so sure of herself. She had no idea of what was happening outside the safety barrier of the castle walls, ever since the King had fallen ill. The enemy was said to be advancing; there were apparently spies inside the village. And people were disappearing. People were waiting for an answer, and the rumours of the princess's engagement had calmed the worried people. And there was Sakura, oblivious to it all. That was where the headache sank in for Tomoyo. She knew Sakura could defend herself; she had always been too stubborn to sit and watch the boys learn to fight. There was nothing the guards could do that Sakura couldn't. But to sit and watch Sakura wander outside was a horrible thought, but keeping Sakura inside would be impossible. She was just too stubborn. If she kept Sakura locked in the castle, she was bound to get out, and then no one would know where she was and when she was coming back. Tomoyo was at a loss.

"Ta-dah! What do you think?" Sakura jumped back into the room, her face dusted with dirt marks that were also generously coating her previously semi-clean clothes. Her pinned-up hair was matted with mud that almost disguised her locks.

The door slammed open for the second time.

"Princ – oops." Sakura's sixteen-year-old maid widened her eyes when she realised what she had done. The princess had asked for more mud, but she didn't think she wanted it all sliding down her back. Maybe running into the room with a pail of mud was a bad idea. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I – "

"Never mind." Sakura pulled a face before straightening up. "I guess I asked for it. Aya, just go and get cleaners to clean up the mess here. Tomoyo, I'm leaving now." She grinned at her frowning best friend. "Wish me luck!"

"Sakura." Tomoyo's face became grave. "I need you to promise me that you'll be careful and not wander off to no where. Just stick to places where there are lots of people. I guess there are points to dressing up as a male. Don't ask," she said to Sakura's curious tilt of the head.

Her friend grinned. "No problem. I'll be back before sunset. And don't forget to pick out a gown; there should be something impressive that you've made for me. Right?"

"Whatever you want, Princess." Tomoyo curtsied, and left for the exit. "And remember, I was never here if you fail to sneak out of the castle. It was all your idea. I was with Eriol, and everything else I'll make it up from there. I'll see you later."

Tomoyo looked at Sakura's eager face with a frown before closing the door after her.

Sakura picked up a pouch of gold coins she'd prepared. She tied it to her petticoat and fixed everything up so there'd be no suspicions. It was so important that everything went right. She didn't want to cause anymore problems for Tomoyo, or her father. And one thing she didn't want to deal with was thieves. She wasn't prepared to be robbed on her last trip out.

She patted the pouch and grinned; she couldn't wait.

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"Aya."

Aya blinked and tilted her head when she saw the lady Tomoyo in front of her. Did she want something? "Yes, my lady?"

"I need you to watch the princess, in case there's any danger." Tomoyo took out a small bag of coins. "This is for your silence. Don't tell her I told you to follow her, so don't tell her, okay? I know Sakura took her horse, but I don't think she'll be going too fast."

Tomoyo walked over to the window in the small servant's room. The weather didn't look too good. "Be careful, too."

With a small curtsy that wasn't noticed, Aya exited and left Tomoyo to stare out into the kingdom absently.

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Sakura smiled wistfully as she led her pony past the small stalls and throng of people. She'd never seen so many people in one place before. So many different types of people walked past her as she led Midnight in her dirt clad clothes. There were so many differences between her as the princess of the kingdom and her under the disguise of a low servant. There was, after all, the matter of hygiene; her ladies and maids would have a fit if they saw her as she was at the current moment.

Sakura looked around as a group of passing girls giggled. She didn't look like a male, exactly, but she guessed the grime and dirt that covered her served well as her disguise.

A little boy, half-naked, ran past her, grinning as a tubby man chased after him with a broom. Sakura watched on in amusement as the man stopped to pant heavily. He caught her staring at him. "What are you looking at?" he sneered, his face red.

Sakura stifled a giggle. Oh, there were definitely differences between her as the princess and her present state. No one except Toya would have dared to speak to her like that. The man swore and began walking back to his stall.

She continued her journey, drinking in the sight of everything. Even though she had lived in the kingdom all seventeen years of her life, she had never been allowed to see it by herself, unless she sneaked out. But when she did succeed in escaping, she had never gotten far. Toya seemed to know when she did, and was always raising his eyebrows in amusement when his guards brought her back. But these days, Toya seemed to be in a daze himself, forgetting his usual self of making fun of his sister. Sakura had concluded that was because it was so close to his coronation.

Sakura's reverie was quickly cut short as Midnight whinnied loudly. They had travelled the furthest they had ever been, and the stalls and people were getting less and less. Sakura almost felt bad about what she promised to Tomoyo, about staying away from places with not many people, but she could have argued it was the weather.

Midnight neighed again and Sakura stared up into the sky to meet the first few drops of rain. They greying skies began to rumble. "Is it the weather, boy? Are you scared of thunder?"

She took out a carrot from her pocket and fed it to the horse. She didn't think it was thunder or lightning; in fact, she could feel something too. Or more precisely, someone. Someone was watching them.

"Who's there? Come out right now!" she yelled. A few passer-bys looked at her strangely but continued running, looking for shelter before the rain hit harder. Sakura was positive there was somebody following her, now. There had been a previous nagging feeling, but she ignored it. "I know you're there. If you don't come out, I'll find you. And then you'll be sorry." She ran her fingers over the dagger hidden beneath her breeches.

"Princess?" It was a soft voice, and a small figure emerged from the shadows.

Sakura played a sigh of annoyance, in an attempt to hide her relief. "What are you doing, Aya? You've scared my horse and wasted my time."

"Lady Tomoyo told me to follow you; in case you got into trouble." Aya looked up sheepishly under her wet fringe. "She said to not let you know."

Sakura frowned and closed her eyes in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell her I can look after myself? I don't need a sixtee – " Sakura's eyes widened in surprise as her voice diminished into muffles as someone grabbed her from behind. She tried to bite the hand covering her mouth, but all she could do was taste dirt and sweat and rain.

"PRIN – " Aya's cry faded into nothing as she blacked out from a hard strike on her head.

Sakura looked on in shock as the masked man struck her servant, knocking her out. But she had her own problems; the scent of her captor was unbelievably overwhelming and her head was spinning. The odour...the pain...dagger...

Her hand reached for her dagger fervently, but there was a sudden pain striking her head, and before she could do anything...

She blacked out.

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**A/N: **Gosh. I don't think I'll ever be happy with this. -pulls face- I re-wrote an old story – something I deleted more than a year back – and here's the result. Then I re-read it two days later, and I don't like my re-write at all. And I thought it was better. T.T But it's been so long since I've posted something, and I really liked the storyline of the original story. So if you have a few minutes to spare, I'd love to know what you think of this so far.

:) And would anyone be willing to be my beta-reader for this story and put up with my shoddy grammar?


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